Slow Burn
by stopnatsu
Summary: It wasn't love at first sight. They didn't meet each other's eyes and melt on the spot; there were no fireworks when their hands brushed accidentally. No, it was never like that. Lucy and Natsu fell in love slowly. It wasn't sudden. It wasn't a sprint. No—Lucy and Natsu were a slow burn, an afterthought that gradually worked its way into both of their minds. NaLu. Oneshot. Fluffy


It wasn't love at first sight. They didn't meet each other's eyes and melt on the spot; there were no fireworks when their hands brushed accidentally. No, it was never like that.

Lucy and Natsu fell in love slowly. It wasn't sudden. It wasn't a sprint. No—Lucy and Natsu were a slow burn, an afterthought that gradually worked its way into both of their minds.

First, they were strangers. They weren't supposed to meet, not really—they just so happened to be in the same city at the exact same time. Lucy had stumbled into the town as she worked her way around the country, desperate to be free from the upperclass clutches of her father; Natsu happened to be searching for Igneel, chasing rumors about some _Salamander_ within the town's walls.

Funny how that was how they met—Lucy running away from her father, Natsu searching for his.

Chaos ensued, of course, but the fateful meeting led to Natsu bringing Lucy back to the guild. She met everyone, fell in love with the place, fell in love with her newfound family. And yeah, she was undeniably thankful that she had just so happened upon the goofy pink haired boy. He'd saved her after all, in every sense of the word. He'd brought her home.

They'd become friends, day by day. At first, he didn't even know her name. Called her _Looney_ or something. But then, he and Happy had asked her to join their team. They'd wanted her to go on missions with them. She'd blushed and agreed, flattered by their kindness. She'd never been wanted before, and it made her heart soar knowing that these two boys wanted her to join them.

Then, he'd start to visit her apartment. At first, she hadn't minded—she was rather lonely, surprised by how much she missed the estate and the enormous amount of staff living alongside her. Ut was different here, and she was glad to see Natsu and Happy pop in randomly.

They'd start to visit more often. She'd cook them supper and they'd linger until it was late.

Then, they started to arrive at her house before she did. They'd lounge on the couch, waving at her when she walked in; she'd lose her mind and kick them out, calling them homeless bozos. But still, every time she yelled at them and tossed them back out into the street, she'd peek out her window, snickering at the two boys as they glumly walked to their house. And she'd feel a little bad, if only for a second.

And that was how it was, for quite a while. Natsu and Happy would show up, and Lucy would send them out late at night, once she was ready for her pre-bedtime soak in the bath. By this point, everyone in the guild was well aware how interconnected the three of them were: they were inseparable. Lucy didn't go anywhere without Natsu and Happy. That's just how it was. They were friends.

Lucy hadn't exactly been aware of the transition between strangers and good friends—but she was actively aware of when they crossed the line and became best friends.

It had been a normal day—they'd gone on some little mission, trying to make some cash so Lucy could pay her rent. They'd finished the job and returned to the guild, where all of the guildmates had dinner and took part in some of their usual evening activities (a full out brawl). Lucy had gone home after everyone had settled, exhaustion from the full day settling into her muscles. When she got home, Natsu and Happy were already in her apartment (how the hell did they beat her?) sprawled out on the couch.

Normally, she would've booted them. But today, she was too tired, too exhausted to put up a fight. Lucy plopped down on the couch, tossing her legs up across Natsu's lap. He'd been surprised, but quickly settled in, not wanting to spoil a precious moment where Lucy _wasn't_ yelling. The three of them watched TV, Lucy's legs still across his lap, his hand falling and resting on her ankle. And it was nice, she had to admit. She didn't mind it. Maybe she'd let them stay more often.

Lucy started to yawn, and she realized how late it actually was. Happy was already passed out on the floor; Natsu was yawning, too, his eyes droopy and red.

And she didn't have the heart to send them home. They were too tired, and it had been a long day, and she couldn't do it. She couldn't kick them out, not now. So, she didn't.

Lucy grabbed some extra blankets from her closet and she pulled them out to the boys. She handed Natsu a pillow and he frowned, unsure by her gesture.

"I don't get it," He'd mumbled, frowning down at the pillow and then glancing back up at the blonde. "What's this for?"

Lucy sighed. "For you to sleep on."

"You don't have to give me this—we've got pillows back at our house."

She rolled her eyes. "For you to sleep on _here_ , dummy." She met his surprised gaze. "It's too late for you guys to walk home. Just stay here for the night."

Natsu's lips had curved upwards into a bright, beaming smile, and Lucy swore it was daylight by how bright the room seemed. "Really?"

Lucy tried not to grin in response. "Yes, silly. But you're on the couch, okay?"

Natsu set up his bed, smile still on his face; he hugged sleeping Happy to his chest. Lucy pulled the blankets up to his chin, blushing slightly as she tucked him into his makeshift bed. She'd said goodnight, but his eyes were already closed and a little snore was already making its way through her livingroom. She'd smiled to herself and shook her head, making her way to her own bed.

She'd fallen asleep quickly, comforted by the fact that Natsu was just outside of her door, there to protect her in case anything bad happened.

Lucy was abruptly awoken early in the morning—far too early—by a little whisper in her ear.

"Luce, wake up," The voice whispered, tense. "Wake up."

Lucy let out a groan, frowning; she peered at her clock—it was three in the morning—and then snapped her gaze back to whoever was poking at her. "Natsu?"

He was standing there, at the side of her bed, pillow in hand; he was only wearing his shorts and his scarf, leaving his chest bare. His expression—although it was hard to see in the darkness—was messed up into a look of fear and worry; he was chewing on his lip nervously.

"What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," He responded, voice still…off. Something was wrong. "It's just…can I ask you a favor?"

Lucy propped herself up onto her elbows. "Of course," She whispered back.

"Can I sleep in the bed with you?"

The way he'd phrased the question, the tone of voice he was using…they all lead Lucy to believe that something bad had happened. He looked like a little boy, one that was lost and hurt, one that was on the verge of tears. And it made her expression go soft.

"Sure," She'd responded, far too worried about Natsu's demeanor to be offended by him sleeping in her bed. She scooted over, moving her pillows to the far side, making a space for the pink haired boy.

And that was when it hit her, how far they'd come. She'd let them stay and now she was letting him sleep in her bed simply because she was worried about him.

They weren't strangers. They weren't just good friends. No, Natsu was her best friend. It was evident now, in her actions.

Natsu hopped in, setting his pillow up and tugging the blankets up over his shoulders. He turned, laying on his side, so that he was face-to-face with Lucy. He still looked upset, but to a lesser degree; he seemed relieved that she'd allowed him to stay.

Lucy's voice was soft. "What's wrong, Natsu?"

The boy winced slightly as he thought about what was bothering him. "Nothin'."

"You can tell me." His body instantly heated up the space beneath the covers; Lucy thought it was cozy.

The mask of indifference on his face crumbled, and the pain in his expression was clear. The corners of his lips curled down and maybe Lucy was just seeing things, but his eyes looked a little wet.

"Bad dream." He was fumbling with his scarf, not meeting her eyes.

"About?"

He swallowed. "Igneel."

Lucy hated seeing Natsu like this, seeing him upset. He put so much effort into his tough guy act, and seeing him like this—a little broken boy—made her heart ache. She reached out and grabbed his hand; he seemed surprised by her touch, but she just gave him a smile.

"Well, don't worry. I'm here."

Natsu nodded, because yeah, Lucy _was_ here. And she was warm and soft and kind, and she took away all of the pain and worry that had been rekindled by his nightmare. She was his best friend, and she took care of him, and that was all that mattered.

They fell asleep, hand in hand, both comforted by each other's presence.

After that night, Natsu and Happy stayed over more often. Lucy didn't always let Natsu into her bed—only when he was having a nightmare and looked like he really needed it. But she'd always make them breakfast, and they'd all chat and joke around. And Lucy was happy, because her best friends were with her, and they were their own little family.

During the good times, Lucy's little family had tons of fun; during the bad times, they relied on one another to stay strong.

When Lucy found out her father died, Natsu stayed with her. She didn't have to explain what was wrong—he could tell just by her expression. He didn't press her on the subject, didn't ask her to say how she felt. He just sat with her, sat in her living room, hoped his presence would be enough. She spent most of her days writing, and Natsu had no problems sitting and watching her.

And at night, when everything seemed to haunt her and prevented her from closing her eyes, he was there. He'd crawl into her bed and he'd hold her hand. And the warmth that radiated off of his body seemed to touch her, right to her very core, directly to her heart. With him there, holding her hand, warming her up, she knew she'd make it through. She knew she'd be okay.

And when Igneel was gone, when he'd fought Acnologia and lost what was remaining of his life force, Lucy was there for Natsu. When everyone else was worrying about the guild and their enemies, Lucy's eyes flashed over to Natsu. And when she saw him standing there, a little broken boy, her heart shattered. Once the fight was completely over and everyone was safe, she hugged him. She ran up to the pink haired boy and she threw her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. Because he was hurting and he needed her to remind him how loved he was. And his big goofy hands wrapped around her waist, hugging her back, thankful that he had Lucy to make everything less painful.

And when he'd made the decision to leave for a year, to train and become powerful and make his father proud, he knew what he was leaving behind. He knew he couldn't ask Lucy to come along—she'd say yes just to make him happy but she'd be miserable about the travelling and training—and he knew he had to leave her behind, for her own sake.

He'd written a note. It had taken him three hours to even put the pen on the paper. He was shaking and he was nauseous and he changed his mind about a hundred times, because how the hell was he supposed to go without Lucy? But Happy told him that he was doing the right thing, that they couldn't make Lucy come, that it wouldn't be fair to her. And so, Natsu wrote the note, and he felt his heart break into a million tiny pieces.

When she'd found the note, she'd lost her mind. She ran out of her apartment, not caring enough to lock the door behind her. She'd ran to their house, busted their door in, tears streaming from her cheeks. But the place was empty, and there wasn't a sign of them. She'd went everywhere—the guild, back to her apartment, the pond, the forest—and couldn't find them.

Lucy had cried herself to sleep, missing him. It was the loneliest night of her life.

She'd tried her best to move on, tried not to fall apart when the guild dissolved. She looked for Natsu everywhere she went. But she didn't find him. There weren't any signs of his presence. She cried a lot.

How was she supposed to take care of him when he left her like this? How was she supposed to make him feel better when she couldn't find him?

Now, she understood what hearbreak felt like. She'd never been so absolutely obliterated by emotions and feelings before. She found herself thinking about Natsu all day long, remembering the good times with him or worrying about where he was now.

And yeah, she realized that they'd crossed another line somewhere in the past. He wasn't her best friend anymore—he was more. He was her best friend and her confidant and the only person she could ever truly trust; he was the best person she'd ever met and the only person she felt like she could be herself with. And it hadn't hit her until he'd left her behind, but she loved him. He was home to her. But now he was gone.

And everything hurt so much more once she'd realized she was in love with him, so she refrained from thinking about him. That was her rule, now. No thinking about him. Because she'd worry about him and his safety and she'd worry about him being sad and she worried about everything. And she missed him so much it felt like the pain was cracking her ribs, like it was breaking her spine. And if she thought about him for more than thirty seconds, she'd cry.

So she didn't think about him. She wasn't allowed. She went on living her life and didn't think about him, not consciously, at least.

And when he came back, he surprised her. He melted the entire arena and practically scorched her entire outfit. And he'd peered up at her shocked face, hair all raggedy and long, and he'd flashed her that 10,000 watt grin. And she'd melted on the spot, even more than before, heart having some severe palpitations.

It was shocking, having to go from never thinking about him to having him _right there_ , right in front of her, smiling up like he'd never left in the first place.

She was hurt, definitely. It wasn't easy being left behind, and it was even harder allowing this person, the one that hurt you so badly, back into your life without being upset. Natsu could tell—she was a little cold towards him occasionally, and he'd picked up on it.

But she showed him and Happy her new apartment, her new life. They'd asked questions, and she'd answered them. And yeah, she wanted to throw her arms around him and hug him and kiss him for hours, but she couldn't. After he'd left, she'd set up some protective walls around her heart, and they wouldn't come down that easily. He'd hurt her, and now he had to pay the consequences.

And that first night after he'd returned into her life, he'd slept on the couch, Happy hugged close to his chest. And they'd gotten up in the middle of the night, planning to prank Lucy and draw some stupid mustache on her as she slept. They'd crept into her room, stood over her sleeping body…

But Natsu noticed the wall beyond the bed. He noticed Lucy's notes all over the corkboard, as she mapped out where every guild member had been seen or noticed within the past year. She had notes on what everyone was doing, where they were seen, what they'd accomplished. Every single member had something written down under their name.

But Natsu…there was nothing under his. No sightings, no accomplishments. Just a little red question mark and a sad face that Lucy must've drawn one night when she was frustrated, missing him. The only thing posted under his name was a picture of them from a while ago that Mira took in the guild hall; Lucy was smiling at the camera and Natsu had his arm tossed around her shoulder, putting his fingers up and giving her bunny ears. They looked so happy, like they didn't have a single care in the world.

And Natsu's eyes were wet—wet enough that a tear dripped out, running down his cheek. She'd missed him just as much as he'd missed her.

And boy, did he miss her. Throughout his travels, he'd lay awake at night, watching the stars, thinking about her. He wondered if she hated him now, if she'd ever forgive him for taking off without a face-to-face goodbye.

When he'd run into Gildarts, they'd had a long chat about Lucy. Gildarts had already had a feeling about Natsu's feelings, and he asked about her. Natsu had said he'd left her behind, that she probably hated him and had ten different boyfriends by now. Gildarts had laughed, clapped his hand on Natsu's back, and told him not to sweat it—she'd forgive him. Natsu had asked how Gildarts was so sure, and the older mage just shrugged.

"She loves you—she'll forgive you eventually."

Natsu had made a face. "What makes you think that she loves me?"

Gildarts ignored the boy's question; he stared at the waterfall before them for a second or two. "So, you really like this girl, huh?"

"She's my best friend."

"Right," Gildarts nodded. "You'd better tell her that when you get back."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Listen, Natsu—I've got one tip for you, and this is going to change your entire world, got it?" Gildarts let out a breath. "Girls _love_ to listen. They really do. They want you to tell them how you feel, what you think about them. Everything. So, when you get back, you tell Lucy that. How you feel about her, what you think about her. And I promise you, if you do that, she will forgive you."

Natsu had frowned, utterly confused by Gildarts advice.

But now, standing above Lucy's sleeping body, looking at the empty space under his name on her corkboard, Natsu understood. He knew Lucy was hurt and he knew she was upset, and he knew what he had to do to make it all better.

He'd instructed Happy to go back to the couch, that he wanted to tell Lucy something important. Happy had fluttered off, too tired to give a shit about anything.

And Natsu lifted the blankets and crawled into Lucy's bed, surprised by how cold her body was without him there to heat her up. She mumbled in her sleep, stirring slightly; Natsu froze, not waiting to bother her with his movement. Once she was quiet again, he slipped under the blankets further, getting into a comfy position.

He watched her for a little bit, smiled at her as she snored.

He'd missed her so much.

His big finger reached out, and he poked her in the cheek gently. Lucy grumbled out a response, still asleep. Natsu smirked and tapped her nose softly; she let out a few more slurred words.

And he was happy like this, watching her sleep, watching her dream.

"Grrmmfff," Lucy mumbled, a frown coming over her sleeping face. "I just…Natsu, don't go…"

Natsu froze, body stiff; he watched the girl carefully, listening intently.

Lucy continued, clearly having a bad dream. "Please, come back, I-I'm sorry, Natsu, I…please." Her words were slurred and she was whispering very quietly, but Natsu was sure of what he heard.

Lucy became more upset in her sleep, face contorting into a pained expression; she was begging now as she spoke, begging for him to come back. "Please, please, come back, Natsu—Natsu…"

He felt like he was suffocating. He'd hurt her too much—she'd never forgive him.

Lucy jolted awake, eyes flashing open; Natsu was surprised to see that her eyes were wet. She looked up at him, confused by the notion of him being directly in front of her after she'd had a nightmare recapping him leaving her. She stared at him for a long few seconds, expression blank.

But then, she burst into tears and threw herself against his bare chest. Natsu had to catch his balance, surprised; he hugged her back quickly, ducking his head and pressing it into her shoulder as they held each other.

"Don't ever leave me again," Lucy whispered shakily between sobs. "Please—I need you."

"I won't, I promise," Natsu choked back, voice weak and crackling. "I'm sorry."

She sniffled for a long moment. "Thanks for coming back."

Natsu peered down at the little blonde head pressed against his chest, and he knew that he'd hurt her more than he'd initially realized. And he knew what he had to do to get her to forgive him—follow Gildarts' advice.

 _Tell her how you feel, tell her what you think of her_.

"I love you," Natsu sputtered out, immediately blushing as soon as the words left his lips. "Really. And not in a friendly way, because you're definitely more than a friend to me, okay? And I don't ever want to leave you, ever again. I want to be beside you forever. Because being away from you sucked and I missed you too much and I don't think anything has ever hurt so much. So, forgive me—please. Because I love you."

The little blonde head froze, her face hidden by a curtain of locks; it took her a long few seconds to lift her head, brown eyes looking up at him, wide.

"You love me?"

Natsu made a face, embarrassed. "I do."

Lucy blushed and laughed, leaning her head back against his chest. "I love you too, doorknob."

And that was that.

It wasn't love at first sight. It was a lucky meeting between two strangers. It was the introduction of a new family member. It was the creation of their own little family unit, one that took care of each other. It was friendship, which blossomed into best friendship. It was always being there for each other when times got rough.

It was always returning, even after being far apart. It was a thought in both of their minds when they thought about one another, when they thought about how important they were to each other.

It was a slow burn.

It was love.


End file.
